You'll need Shiaoxing wine or chicken broth, soy sauce (what? you threw away those handy packs from the sushi place? yikes! salt, then) and brown sugar (okay... white will do in a pinch as well!)

1. Slice a chicken breast into medallions. Rub 1 to 2 tbsp of the Chinese 6 Spice over it, depending on how big a spice kick you prefer. Since I had a good sized chunk of chicken, I used 2 tbsp here. Rest for a minute while you wash and cook your rice in the rice cooker.

2. Heat a tbsp of oil in a non stick pan and when hot, sear your chicken medallions, taking care not to burn the spices out. When nicely browned, pour a bit of Chinese cooking wine or chicken broth to deglaze it, a capful of low-sodium soy sauce, a sprinkle of brown sugar and another capful of water.

3. Cover and cook through on medium to low heat. When juices run clear, turn off the heat but let rest, covered, still in the pan. Season with white pepper and chili flakes as you desire.

4. Prep and steam your (frozen or fresh) vegetables in a bowl in the microwave.

5. Rice is done, plate it. Place chicken and juices on rice (because we know you want the gravy on the rice) and arrange the vegetables on the side.

Baharat is a Middle Eastern spice mix used as an all purpose seasoning. It is added to vegetables, meats, grains, soups and roasts to give an aromatic flavour to the dish.

Here we have used it as a rub to season a chicken breast. Fuel with Flavour's freshly ground Baharat mix is a potent medley of spices, and you can tailor the quantity used to suit your palate. You can use 1 tbsp of the spice blend for one chicken breast which will make enough for a satisfying lunch to share.

Tender, juicy and succulent, this chicken was then sliced and set on fresh greens to make a wrap. For a vegetarian option, sauté onions, bell peppers and eggplant or zucchini with this spice blend for a decidedly Middle Eastern flavour.

A spinach wrap gets a good coating of yogurt, then a bed of fresh greens.

An easy peasy bundt cake we made for Father's Day, because really ... is there a father who doesn't love chocolate? I think not. At least, I don't know of any.

We kept it bare, I mean, unglazed, because he likes it that way. So to sum up: chocolate + cake - icing + homemade = a very happy father! We also made his favorite dark chocolate bark with Marcona almonds for good measure ;)

Trying to make healthful substitutions where ever possible, and since we had a fresh batch of homemade applesauce, this was a shoe in! Cinnamon and cloves and black pepper?!? Yes, it's different, but the applesauce called for some spice and the amounts were quite miniscule given the intensity of the chocolate. No one noticed and yet, it had some depth of flavour. You may choose to omit but you'd be missing out. There are proven benefits to having spices and besides using it liberally in my cooking, I'm trying to incorporate it in my baking (sneakily, I admit).

Directions:
1. Butter and flour a bundt pan.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, cloves and pepper.
3. Make a well in the center and pour in the applesauce, beaten eggs, oil and melted butter.
4. Mix to just incorporate and add the chopped chocolate.
5. Transfer to the prepared pan and bake for 60 to 70 minutes, until it passes the skewer test.
6. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes on top of a cooling rack before inverting it onto the rack to cool completely.
7. Place on your pretty platter and sift icing sugar before serving.

This bundt cake won't be too sweet so it's also perfect with a scoop of ice cream!

Celebrating Father's Day was relatively easy. After all, as long as Father has his favorite chocolate almond bark, we would call it a day. Well, he had his bark and then some.

We bought and re-plated ;) some sushi. Having missed sushi day a few days before (June 18) this was a great occasion as any. After all, everyone was famished and we actually managed to eat lunch at lunch time. Not like Mother's Day when brunch turned into tea. LOL ...

Tokyo Joe had an amazing sushi roll selection, which we enjoyed very much.

We also made a fabulous chocolate applesauce spiced bundt cake with ahem.. homemade applesauce. Applesauce = less butter = less guilt. Dark chocolate shards masked the faint taste of cinnamon and black pepper, giving it an interesting twist.

And the piéce de resistance, for Father at least, was this dark chocolate Marcona almond bark. Hmmm...

Not one to be consumed by guilt, we took a 12km walk along the seawall to burn off all those calories. It was the day of the summer solstice and the weather was beautiful! So was the walk ;)

I am so thrilled and excited to launch my online spice store: fuelwithflavour.com.
Whew! Finally! It was a hectic few days while we ground, printed, shopped, designed and toiled over every last detail. And what a relief it was when it literally went 'Saturday night live'!

We'll be adding more products to the catalogue, more spice blends, some beautiful kitchen gear and more importantly, more recipes here on this blog to use those aromatic blends.

This idea started when I went back home and family members convinced me to open an online store. My Mom wanted me to open a bakery! Maybe that will come to be as well ;)

Why spices? Because I come from the Spice Islands!!! Growing up, Oma's cooking and baking with all the fresh herbs, roots and spices always filled the house with aromatic and fragrant aromas. Nutmeg, cinnamon, mace ... I grew up with them. They actually hail from where Oma comes from, the island of Sulawesi. And since I've moved away, going back home is always a treat for the palate because I get to savour all these spices fresh at their best. Fortunately, most spices are available everywhere now. But not spices are created, or sourced, equally.

And this is where I found an opportunity to channel my retail background and my love for all things culinary. The love child of these two is now open and delivering the best to you 24/7.

Bear with me as the store grows to accommodate more amazing blends and gift ideas. I would love to hear from you should you have any suggestions or comments. Happy shopping!

I must say I more than 'adapted' this recipe. Looking through numerous others that wasn't really what I wanted made me bold enough to go where I've never gone before. I fashioned my own! A small accomplishment but nevertheless, a milestone for a Mom without culinary training ;)

So what was it that I was looking for? Something with pears, but only on top, a coffee cake flavored lightly with almonds, and something that included sour cream to make it moist. Okay, I stretched the last one... I only wanted to use up the sour cream because it was sitting in the fridge. LOL

But hey, it worked great and everything came together in my very own Pear Almond tea cake. I'm now leaning toward my English upbringing of tea time, hence it would be a tea cake as opposed to coffee cake. And yes, as I'm writing this post, I'm enjoying a slice of the Pear Almond tea cake, and seriously enjoying it with Twinnings raspberry and pomegranate tisane. It's divine together! Wouldn't you agree?

1. In a heavy bottomed skillet, heat the butter with the vanilla and star anise until warm, then carefully place the sliced pears, making sure they are not overlapping.
2. Drizzle the sugar on top of the pears and wait for it to slowly brown, doing so on medium heat.
3. Remove the pear slices with a slotted turner and place gently on a plate. Reserve the 'caramel poaching' liquid for use in the batter.

4. Butter and line the bottom of a 9 inch springform pan.
5. Preheat the oven to 350F.

6. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, almond meal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt, making sure to break up the chunks of mostly the almond meal. Then make a well in the center.

7. In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs until frothy.
8. Add the sour cream to the eggs, whisking to incorporate, again smoothing out any lumps.
9. To this, add the almond extract.
10. Whisk in the cooled caramel poaching liquid to the egg mixture.

11. Pour the wet ingredients into the well of the dry ingredients bowl and, with a spatula, fold until just combined.
12. Done! Pour into the springform pan and carefully lay the pears on top in a circular pattern.
13. Scatter the sliced almonds on top then sprinkle with sugar.

14. Bake for 45 minutes until a skewer poked into the center of the cake slides out clean and unbattered (I just coined a word there;) )
15. Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes before unfolding on to a pretty cake pedestal.
Oh.. And enjoy with tea!

This amazing recipe is incredibly easy to make. It has a whole range of textures, from the firm earthy mushroom, the soft and creamy spinach filling and what everyone loves, the crunch of the panko.

It makes a hearty appetizer, but today, it was our whole meal with a side of salad. It's very versatile; get creative with the stuffing and season it Mediterranean style or Italian style. Of course, one could make it with minced meat as well. We baked it in the oven, but because summer is here and it's barbecue season, you can even cook these beauties on the grill.

And therefore, this isn't a recipe per se, it's merely an inspiration when you make your own.

Directions:
1. Remove the stem and gills from the portobello mushrooms. Dice and set aside.
2. Cut onion and garlic into small pieces and sauté in oil or butter.
3. Add in gill and stem parts into the pan. Sauté until the water from the mushroom parts have evaporated.
4. Dice tomatoes and slice the green onions and add in to the pan with spinach. Sauté until the liquid has slightly evaporated and the mixture is not overly wet.
5. Add oregano and basil and salt and pepper to taste.

6. Stuff the mushrooms with the mixture, pushing it into the nooks and crannies of the edges. Pat down gently.
7. Heap panko over the mixture and pat gently.
8. Sprinkle a generous dose of 'parmesan cheese' on top.
9. Bake in the oven until the top is golden brown and the mushroom is nice and hot.

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About me

Growing up in a multicultural family, we have always enjoyed a wide array of cuisines. That's why you will find here a taste of the Indian, with special emphasis on Sindhi cuisine; a taste of the Indonesian, especially the Manadonese dishes, and surely, the universal Chinese dishes.